Reality Check: Readers’ Notes

Editor’s Note: It’s been a while since we have given voice to the faithful in this space—so we go back to when all of this presidential craziness started…

Wow, I’m really disappointed in you Mr. Campion. (WHY DONALD TRUMP MUST BE THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE—Issue: 1/27/15) Giving up and voluntarily voting for a sociopath, billionaire, 12-year-old bully, pathological liar, fascist whose only motivation is feeding his ego and amusing himself, is not the answer. I’m all for grenades but you are going to defeat the 1% by voting for one? I much prefer the Bernie grenade for so many reasons. Come on, Jim, drink the Bernie Koolaid!! Bern Baby Bern!

And if all fails and Sanders doesn’t get the nomination, I’d still rather vote for Clinton than a Hitler Clown that represents everything that I despise. I’d prefer to wait a little bit on the “completely giving up on humanity ploy”. I mean we’ll get there soon enough either way, what’s the rush? Truthfully I fear it really doesn’t matter what we do, the 1% runs this world and I can’t really see them letting anyone do anything that resembles real change but no matter how much I want change I’m not willing to sell my soul and vote for hate, fear and pure evil. As a good friend of mine once said “I WEEP FOR THIS WORLD”.

—Bo Blaze

Well done sir. You captured the essence of Mr. Trump’s support. Please allow me to add on to your thoughts. As a conservative who is fully in support of Mr. Trump, I can tell you this vote is ALL about taking down Reince Priebus and his RNC buddies. We are going to show them what happens when you take the conservative base for granted. We are in full on revolt and are saying “No More Dole McRomney’s”. No more milquetoast RINO’s who thump their “conservative” chests during campaign season only to become Barry’s Little Lambs in Congress.

Trump is speaking what many of us feel and we believe him. Are we silly to do so? Maybe but no worse than thinking the Grand RINO McCain was a conservative. Well, never the less, this is a problem of the RNC’s making and soon we will teach them who is REALLY in charge.

Peace,

—Bill Roberts

Mr., Campion, Sir, with respect … the TEA Party was never, for a second, “grassroots”; from the very first it was financed by the Koch Brothers, as has been fairly amply demonstrated, though, yes, these wingnuts were mostly co-opted by the Repubs.

I would also like to suggest that Trump does *not* defy the argument that these types of candidates are mostly the result of redistricting and gerrymandering; as “national” as he may seem, he loses to both Hillary and Sanders in polls—losing even bigger to Sanders than to Hillary. As a Rolling Stone headline put it, “Trump Would Get Schlonged by Sanders.”

I must also protest the accusation leveled against Sanders, which has no basis in reality, that he “espouses a failed, government-controlled, economic restructuring of wealth based on this illusion of fairness.” He does espouse something like that, but it has hardly failed—when was it tried in this country? And it seems a bit unkind to call it an “illusion of fairness” when US companies stash tens of billions of dollars in offshore accounts (thanks to tax loopholes), and huge corporations play with investments like monopoly money because they KNOW they can’t lose (they’ll be bailed out AND execs will get their bonuses), and the oil companies are being given subsidies—subsidies! for oil!—and we now have a report (see CNN money, Oxfam study) that shows that the world’s richest 62 people have as much wealth as FULLY half of the world’s population. 62 people own as much as 3.6 billion. Surely that’s not mere chance—or 3 billion lazy people. More importantly, this was NOT the case only 40 years ago in this country. See any major economist on this. In the US things began to change drastically in about 1979, and we have all been duped into thinking it’s okay—that, in fact, this is HOW things are supposed to be. The game is rigged, old friend—as someone whose middle name is jaded, I know you know that—but to think there’s nothing we can we do about it is a mistake. As Ursula K. Leguin has said, “Any human power can be resisted by human beings.”

Respectfully, long-time reader,

—Vince Czyz

Yes! Yes! (EXPLAINING BERNIE SANDERS—Issue 2/10/15) This is what great political writing is all about! Bernie is the result of a failed system and it is a vote against what has been a falsely accused socialist agenda by the Obama administration that has support Wall Street and free trade and continues to ignore the problems at his base.

Bernie may not win, but he will scare the establishment of both parties, he will bring to light the inequities in this process and the system. It is way overdue for someone like him and for a voice to those of us who have been told that a progressive agenda is being put forth, but it is one with no teeth. Just look at the Heritage Foundation/Newt Gingrich Affordable Care Act—it is a right wing version of what should have been single-payer and we were screwed and now the insurance companies run this thing.

Enough is enough.

—Sarah Burgess

I just hope that what comes out of this is an all around better educated electorate (read: college students) that understands the true violent history of socialism in the world. Having been a liberal college student myself, I lived the youthful need to rile things up, to rebel, to protest, etc. etc. etc. Once I started working and paying taxes (no artist I) all that liberal bull crap came to an end. Or at least the progressive ideas of free this and free that. Bullshit! Nothing in life is free. Period.

Living in NYC in the ’80s and early ’90s, I saw first hand just what giving things for free does to people, saw too many people willing to let others do the hard work for them. In sum, we cannot afford liberalism/socialism and survive. It totally denies human nature, which capitalism is the only thing that totally embraces. No one I know was raised believing that everything in life is “fair” or should be—where the heck did that come from anyway??

The good news is that ALL people equally have the opportunity in this country, regardless of their circumstances, to succeed. It’s up to the individual, not the government, to make that happen. This is what the whole Constitution is based on. Bernie Sanders is the scariest candidate in my opinion because he sending the wrong message.

Life is not fair. Deal with it. Become a strong person and make your life what you want it to be. Don’t be afraid of obstacles or what other people say you can and cannot do. But if he’s shaking things up for the democrats and causing them to re-think their message, especially Hillary, well then good. As long as a republican takes back the White House! I’ll take any of those candidates over Bernie or Hillary, any day. That being said, I’m with you: cannot take this stuff so fervently. Nonetheless, the whole thing makes me uneasy.